Whereas, occasionally the addition of classical instrumentation improves the songs, it feels forced far too frequently. It is clear to see that Manchester Orchestra have tried to experiment on their latest album, but it seems that ambition has got the better of them for the most part. The final track is particularly tedious, due to the lengthy running time and predictable coda. The album trudges to an underwhelming conclusion with the generic “Apprehension” and the dull “Leaky Breaks”. The song sounds frustratingly similar to the track which precedes it, but without the interesting orchestral flourishes. “Leave It Alone” is less inspiring still. The title track is a competent power ballad, but when compared to “I Can Feel A Hot One” off of the previous album, one cannot help but feel a little undercut. Unfortunately, the album spirals downhill quickly once “Virgin” comes to a close. The eerie guitar line played during the second verse adds greatly to the song too, as with the grungy chords, which punctuate the chorus. It is instantly recognisable for the children’s choir, which repeat a haunting refrain throughout. “Virgin” is both the heaviest and strongest track on the whole album. Sadly, “Pale Black Eye” is nowhere near as memorable, but all is forgotten by the stunning centrepiece, entitled “Virgin”. The unpredictable structure is intriguing and distinguishes this song in particular, as a stand-out track on “Simple Math.” “April Fool” is equally entertaining and is surely one of Manchester Orchestra’s best rock songs to date. The same cannot be said for the brilliant “Pensacola”, which contains plenty of catchy melodies and has the potential to be a successful single. Furthermore, “Mighty” is lacking a decent hook, to grab the listeners attention. However, the first proper rock song, “Mighty”, is disappointing to say the least, due to the poorly suited string section. “Deer” is an ambient, acoustic number, containing Andy Hull’s trademark personal lyrics which are sure to touch so many listeners. It is a bold statement opening an album with a gentle song, especially for a band who traditionally write loud detuned rock songs, yet Manchester Orchestra definitely pull it off. So when their third album, “Simple Math”, was announced the pressure was on for them to deliver the goods once again. The forward thinking indie-rock soundtracked many of our lives with its driving energy and emotional lyrics, and caught many people off guard with the band’s sudden emergence. It is difficult to deny the fact that Manchester Orchestra’s “Mean Everything To Nothing” was an unprecedented success. It's hard not to be a little sad about these bumps in the road, but it's also hard to deny the album gets to its intended destination and provides a memorable trip.Review Summary: The much anticipated follow up to "Mean Everything To Nothing" thrills and disappoints in equal measure. However, the unfortunate missteps are some of the first the group had really made on their albums, or at least the most apparent. The majority of the material here is worth checking out, and even some songs that feel like mandatory songs within the groups discography. Leaky Breaks is also a pretty bloated track on its own, closing out the album on a long-winded and tedious note. The song also has one of the more obnoxious group vocal parts I can remember. On the negative end, Pensacola is somewhat fun but mostly doesn't really fit in the rest of the album with its brighter sound. Simple Math, as a track, is one of their most soaring and massive sounding, with the string incorporation coming in an even more dense manner yet still containing some of the thicker distortion on the guitars. The group also excel with some of their more gorgeous arrangements on this album, in particular the title track. Virgin is more of a dark song than a heavy song, what with the children choral vocals and the horn and string sections, but the hard rock riff and the pained vocals still make for a strong sound. April Fool is also a little more raucous, with a quick pace and some loud shouts. Mighty is the best example of this, with an almost metal guitar riff over Andy Hull's wild vocals. Manchester Orchestra continue to lean into their heavier sound on this album that started to appear on Mean Everything to Nothing. However, it's hard to deny that some of these songs just don't provide the most powerful performances.įirst it's worth discussing the good on Simple Math. Don't get me wrong, I still greatly enjoy many of the songs here, seeing them as some of Manchester Orchestra's best works. Where Mean Everything to Nothing universally stands up a decade later for me as a listener, Simple Math falters a little more throughout the track listing.
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